With his Divine Protection of Anima Whispering unleashed, a din of discordant noises flooded Otto’s ears as he ran.
These were the voices of the bugs, the critters, and indeed all sentient creatures living within the forest, while, with extreme difficulty, Otto sifted for the ones most relevant to himself.

It’s been twenty years since he first discovered his Divine Protection, and ten years since he learned to harness it. And, in all that time, he had never used it so recklessly.
The time he unleashed it in order to clear his name, he was inside a city where the number of creatures was limited.

But here, inside the expansive forest, the volume far exceeded Otto’s capacity to endure.
In the air, in the trees, in the leaves, in the soil and in the rocks, there were countless dwelling places for the critters and bugs. Listening to the noises of all these hidden creatures was like having over a hundred human voices simultaneously assailing his mind.

He wasn’t just hearing with his ears.
The Divine Protection of Anima Whispering demanded comprehension from Otto. Which meant that Otto’s brain had to expend itself to process everything his Divine Protection was picking up.

[Otto: Bh……g]

A sharp pain raced through his head causing his body to sway. He leaned against a tree, wiping the sweat from his face, and saw drops of blood soaking into his sleeve.
Nosebleed. The blood leaking from his face was proof that his brain was working beyond its limit. The intermittent migraines and the ringing in his ears were showing no signs of abating.

[Otto: Ah… I didn’t know. So this is what happens if I keep using it, this Divine Protection of mine. Gets pretty unwieldy, doesn’t it…… it isn’t all nice and convenient, that’s for sure. What a pain…]

Roughly wiping away his nosebleed and rubbing his brow, Otto resumed his faltering run.
His ears continued to ring, but he had no intention of shutting off his Divine Protection. Otto cannot keep up this chase scene by himself.
As mentioned before, the voices keep him informed of Garfiel’s movements. They serve as Otto’s eyes since he couldn’t constantly look behind him.
He wasn’t sure what other people thought about enlisting the help of bugs and animals whose wills differ from humans, but it was no easy task.

Their thought patterns are different from that of humans.
Different things delight and upset them. What one finds normal another might find outrageous. And there is no way to know which weapons to use when negotiating with them.

Even with insects and animals, the greater their intelligence, the greater were the individual differences between them. Just depending on the region they live in, bugs of the same species could have completely different preferences.
It was thanks to all the effort he’d put into his short but vital preparation beforehand that Otto was able keep up his imperfect but successful evasion of Garfiel.

――“Has Subaru found Emilia, and have they properly talked yet?” he wondered.

It was to give them the time to talk―― and to prolong it for just a little longer, that Otto was putting himself through this hardship.
If Subaru’s guess was wrong, and he hadn’t gotten any closer to finding Emilia, then all of this would have been for nothing.

Just why was he doing all this for Subaru?

As his mind wandered to distract itself from the pain, Otto landed on this thought.
Subaru saved his life, and Otto was helping him in order to repay that debt. That was the truth.
Subaru accepted him as a friend and requested his aid, so it was only natural that Otto chose to help him. That was also the truth.

But was Otto truly such a hardcore human being that he would go beyond what was asked of him for those reasons alone?

[Otto: ……Ahh, I see]

Something flashed across his mind in that instant, then suddenly everything made sense.
Otto couldn’t keep himself from smiling.

Once you realize it, it’s really quite simple.
Otto’s reason for placing his faith in Subaru, and for helping him, was surprisingly unprofound.

[Otto: Clutching your head, giving up, thinking that no one could understand you…… I was supposed to know that feeling better than anyone]

The Divine Protection of Anima Whispering was the power to hear what others could not.
Because he could hear the voices of other creatures and know things he normally shouldn’t, Otto was seen as a nuisance by many people. He lost the people who were once his friends, and he could no longer see his family. To Otto, his Divine Protection was nothing more than a superfluous tool that was useless outside of emergencies.

But, because he had this Divine Protection, his experiences changed.
The experiences of being excluded due to his Divine Protection taught Otto the pain of being misunderstood by others. He knew the frustration of knowing something but being unable to communicate it to anyone. And it had conferred him the resigned outlook that “No one would understand anyway”.

All of this was the same for Subaru before he revealed everything to Otto.
That was why Otto trusted him. And, reflecting on just how much that youth and his past self overlapped, Otto started running once more.

That’s all there is to it.
Otto didn’t just want to save Natsuki Subaru. Through him, Otto wanted to save his own past self, to save Otto Suwen.

[????: Fin’lly, fuckin’…… found ya!!]

[Otto: ――Gh!?]

The moment he recognized yet another one of his truest thoughts, Otto heard a voice outside his Divine Protection of Anima Whispering as an impact struck his shoulder, sending him tumbling across the ground.
Rolling sideways, he eventually came to a stop on the soft earth.

[Otto: Bhh, pf! Wh, what…… ghu!]

[Garfiel: Too fuckin’ bad, ain’t it!]

Spitting out the leaves in his mouth, Otto tried to push himself up when a foot drove into his torso. Another kick, wrenching all the air from his lungs, sent him violently skidding over the earth.
Up and down jumbled into one as his head spun so fast that his thoughts grew vague. No oxygen cycled through his brain, the blood in his body congealed, while his veins dispensed only pain throughout his being.

As much as I reaally want to read this I’m going to wait until the rest is finished. Loved the last chapter too much to read it in parts. But ofc take your time Chicken sama & keep the glorious content coming.

Its interesting looking back and realizing the surprising connection Otto and Subaru have. Also, I don’t know why but I keep forgoting Otto was older then Subaru even though his age was made clear in the last chapter.

Thank you Chicken! Reading your translations always feels like a treat! I hope you and everyone else has a great new year ; )